Slab stamper



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. E. MEYER SLAB STAMPER April 11, 1950 Filed Feb. 19, 1945 3nventor H E ME YER (Ittorneg April 11, 1950 MEYER 2,503,504

SLAB STAMPER Filed Feb. '19, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l'moemor Iii-T411575? (Zttornegfi Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE SLAB STAMPER.

Henry E. Meyer, Wyandotte, Mich, assignor to National Steel Corporation, a corporation of.

Delaware Application Februarym, 1945, SerialNo. 578,573;

6 Claims.

1 This invention relates to apparatus for marking slabs, billets, blooms and the like and more par ticularly to an improved apparatus for'starnpingor marking steel slabs and similar metallic bodies with suitable identifying indicia while supported on a roll table or other suitable supporting means. In the process of rolling steel bodies, it is desirableto stamp upon-the body identifying indiciaby which the body may be afterwardrecognized for testing or recording theresults of its use or to indicate the. quality oithe body; Each heatv of steel prepared in an open hearth furnace is;

normally assigned an identification; number. When the heat is tapped into-one or more ladles and the steel is teamed into a plurality of ingotr molds: it is at times desirable to identify the, ingots by number. When each ingot is rolled down into a bloom, the bloom. is" sheared into:

slabs and the qualityand characteristics of these slabs will depend, in part, upon the portion of the ingot-from which the slab-'was rolled. Where the-ingot, is cut into fiveslabathe top slab may be identified by the letter T, the bottom slab bythe letter B and the intermediate slabs by the numerals 2, 3, and 4. Thus, it is necessary to mark the slabs with. a figure designating from what portion of the ingot the slab was formed, with the heat identification number and at times it may be desirable to apply the ingot number to the slab. Heretofore, such steel bodies have been marked with identifying indicia by hand:

which is relatively expensive and cumbersome and has not proven to 'becompletelysatisfactory. The present invention: provides-an: improved apparatus for accuratelymarkingslabs and other similar bodies. while. supported on. a, roll table; The; slab may be stamped while either cold or atzan elevated term-- or: other suitable means.

perature;

It is ansobjectof the present invention to provide an improved mechanismf'or stamping slabs;v

and the; like with: identifying indicia-and especially to provide such an apparatus, which can be located adjacent a roll table, for'marking a slab while onthe table.

Furtherobjects of this "invention are to providean improved slab stampingmachine which is so supported: as tobe readily swingable'into proper alignment with the body to be marked; to provide such anapparatus whichis movable to an" operative position adjacent the slab and movable to an inoperative position away from" the slab; to provide suchan apparatus which includes a novel stamp-striking mechanism; to"- provide such an apparatus which includes means for individually striking a plurality of stamps so that the stamps will: mark the slab: uniformly: regardless of whether or not the stamps are of. the same length and have been worn the same amount; to provide such an. apparatus which in cludesa novel stamp: retaining. means; and to provide such an: apparatus which is economical:

tomanufacture andreadily operable with: a miniimum of" effort on the part ofv the operator to; accurately and legiblytmark' the body with idenr tifying indicia.

These'iandaother objects and advantages will: become apparent fromxthefollowing (iGSCIiDtiOD-l taken) in. connection with. the accompanying:

1 drawings, in which;

Referring to the drawings, a slab stamping;

mechanism s isislidably mounted on the member. M: which is in: turnpivotally mounted on the supporting b85631 Power-actuated means C is connected to the member M and to the mechanism Ste-move the mechanism toward and away from an operative-position adjacent the slab A A pair of: rollers R areprovided for engaging the side of the slab A sothat when the mechanism 8 is moved toward the slab A by the poweractuatedmeans C, the rollers R engage the slab and properly align the: stamping mechanismz about the pivotal axis-between the member M1 and the base B; Thei -hammers H are moved to a cocked-position ready for stamp strikingby means of a cylinder D and are held inthe cocked position by the latching;v mechanism L. A plurality ofcontrol valves V are selectively'operative to release the latching mechanism L to permitv a predetermined number of the hammers H.

to swing' down and strike the slab marking stamps G.

The slab marking mechanism S is pivotally supported so that it can readily swing about its pivotal. axisand into proper alignment with the slab A. A plate 1 0; on the underside of the member M; is adapted to formhalf of-athrust bearing, themember H of base B forming the other half 1 of the thrust bearing. A bolt IZextend's through members M, H] and II to fasten the elements together. A small thrust bearing l 3 is positioned between the head of the bolt 12 and the member M to reduce the friction therebetween. Ball bearings 14 are provided between the members I 8 and H, substantially as shown in Figure 1, so that the mechanism S is supported for pivotal movement about a vertical pivot axis which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the bolt l2. The stamping mechanism S is supported on two slides 15 fastened to the frame 16 and is slidable along ways I1 on member M. The mechanism S is retained in position on the ways I! by two L-shaped guides 18 fastened to the member M by means of bolts ML The pneumatic cylinder C is fastened to the plate M by means of bolts 20 and a clevis 24 on the outer end of piston rod 2| is connected to the stamping mechanism S by pin 22. The head and rod ends of cylinder 0 are connected through tubes 23 to a four-way valve 26 which is in turn connected through a pipe 21 to a source of gas, such as, air under pressure. The valve 26 is so constructed and arranged that movement of the valve handle 28 downward admits air under pressure to the head end of the cylinder C and exhausts the rod end of the cylinder C to the atmosphere so that the rod 2| and the slab stamping mechanism S move toward the right end toward the slab A until the rollers R are resiliently urged against the side of the slab, as shown in Figure 1. Movement of the valve handle 28 upwardly admits air under pressure to the rod end of the cylinder C and exhausts air from the head end to the atmosphere so that the slab stamping mechanism S moves toward the left end away from the slab A to an inoperative position where the apparatus will not be damaged by bodies moving along the roll table or other supporting means, not shown.

The slab stamping mechanism contains a plurality of stamps G. The stamps G are slidably mounted in slots 30 of a stamp holder 3| fastened to the frame l6 by means of bolts 32. A stamp supporting plate 33 is fastened to the bottom of member 3| to support the stamps G in the slots 30. Each of the substantially rectangular shaped stamps G includes an elongated slot 34 cut in its upper surface. Two stamp retaining members 35 and 36 are mounted in guide slots 39 in the stamp holder 3|. The lower edge of each of the stamp retaining members 35 and 36 extends into the slots 34 in the corresponding stamps G so that the stamps have a limited sliding movement relative to the stamp holder 3|. The stamp retaining member 35 is fastened to the stamp holder 3| by means of a bolt 31 as the corresponding stamps are normally not often changed, as will be more fully hereinafter described. A manually operable bell crank 38 is pivotally mounted on top of the member 3! and one arm extends through a hold 39 in the stamp retaining member 36. By manually moving the bell crank 38, the member 36 can be raised which releases the group of stamps normally retained by this member and permits any one of this group of stamps to be readily changed. Normally, one or more of the stamps in this last mentioned group will have to be changed relatively often for the reasons more fully hereinafter set forth.

For each one of the stamps G there is a separate, corresponding, stamp striking hammer H so that each stamp will mark the slab about the same, even though the stamps are worn different amounts and regardless of whether the stamps are the same length. All of the hammers H are swingably mounted on a rod 40 supported by the frame [6. The slab stamping mechanism S includes means for simultaneously raising all of the hammers H to a cooked position as shown in broken lines in Figure 1. This last mentioned means includes a hammer raising cylinder D mounted in brackets 4| on the frame 16. A pair of slides 42 are slidably mounted on ways 43 and are connected to the outer end of piston rod 44 of cylinder D. A rod 45 is mounted in the slides 42 and has rotatably mounted thereon a sleeve 46. The rod 45 and sleeve 46 are so positioned as to engage the upper ends of the hammers H when rod 45 is moved toward the right. The head and rod ends of cylinder D are connected through tubes 4'! to a four-way valve 48. The valve 48 is connected through pipe 21 to a source of air under pressure and is so constructed and arranged that when the handle 49 is moved downward, air is admitted under pressure to the head end of cylinder D and the rod end of the cylinder is in communication with the atmosphere so that the piston rod 44, slides 42 and the hammer moving sleeve 46 are moved toward the right to swing the hammer into the position shown in broken lines in Figure '1. When the valve handle 49 is moved upwardly, the direction of fiow of air in the head and rod ends of cylinder D is reversed so that the piston rod 44 is retracted to the position shown in solid lines in Figure l.

A latching mechanism L is provided to releasably retain the hammers H in the raised position upon movement of the hammers to such a position by the cylinder D. The latching mechanism L comprises a plurality of similar latch members 50 slidably mounted in the bar 5|. There is a latch member 58 for each hammer H and the rear end of each latch member 50 extends through a bracket 52. Movement of the latch member 50 in one direction is limited by the adjustable nut 53. A spring 54 is provided for each latch member 50 and extends between the bracket 52 and the nut 53. The spring 54 urges the latch member toward the right, hammer-engaging position. The forward edge of the latch member 50 slopes so that when the hammers H are raised by operation of the cylinder D, the lower ends of the hammer H readily snap past the inner ends of the latch members 50 so that the hammers are automatically retained in the raised position.

A rod 56 is pivotally supported by the bracket 52 and has fastened thereto six arms 57. Each of the arms 51 is connected at its upper end to the outer end of a corresponding latch member 50. A lever 58 is mounted on and fastened to the rod 56 and has its upper end connected to a corresponding latch member 50. The lower end of lever 58 is connected to the outer end of a piston rod 59 of cylinder 60. The rod end of cylinder 60 is connected by a tube 6| to a two-way valve 62 of the group of valves V. The valve 62 is connected through the pipe 21 to a source of air under pressure and when the valve handle is lowered, air under pressure is admitted to the rod end of cylinder 60 which moves the lever 58 and causes the rod 56 to turn and thereby withdraw the latching members 50 which are connected to the six arms 51 and the lever 58. This permits the seven hammers H corresponding to the seven stamps retained by the retaining member 36 to simultaneously swing down and strike all of this group of stamps and mark the slab A. When the valve handle of valve 62 is raised, air is exhausted tothe atmosphere: and the springs 54 return the.

a tube 66 to a corresponding one of the two-way valves 61 of-the groupv of valves V. Each of the five two-way valves. 5'! is connectedto a sourceof air under pressure through .the pipe 21 so that opening any oneof the valves 61 causes the corresponding cylinder til-to move the latch member 58 to which it isconnected and release the corresponding hammer H to permit the hammer to swing down and-strike the corresponding stamp which is one of the group of stamps retained by the-stamp retaining member 35.

The group of stamps retained by the stamp retaining member 36 includes those stamps indicating the heat number, and if desirable, the ingot number. As shown in Figure 3, the stamp having the numeral 13 thereon, is for stamping the ingot number and the remaining stamps arefor stamping the heat number. The valve'82 is provided for simultaneously releasingall of thehammers which strike this group of stamps as each slab is marked by all of the'stamps.

Where the ingot number is used, the ingot number' stamp will have to be changed for each ingot. At least one of the other stamps in this group must be changed for each heat. The stamps can be readily changed by manually raising the stamp releasing member 38 by means of the bell crank 39, removing one or more stamps and sliding the new stamps into the vacant slots 30.

The group of stamps retained by the stamp retaining member 35--indicates that portion of the ingot which forms the slab and normally only one of these stamps will be used for marking any particular slab so that a plurality of valves 61 are provided for selectively releasing the proper, single hammer H. Each slab is marked with one of these stamps and normally, it is only necessary to change a stamp when it becomes damaged.

The apparatus includes means for stopping the swing of any hammer past thev normalstamp striking position. A rod 78 extends across the mechanism and is so positioned that the hammers H do not normally engage the rod when striking the stamps G. For various reasons, it may be desirable at times to remove one or more of the stamps G, for example, if it is not desirable to stamp the slab with the ingot number, the stamp having the numeral 13 could be readily removed as hereinbefore described. The rod it prevents the hammer H from striking the stamp supporting member 3| and damaging it and the hammers. The rod 10 also prevents damage to the mechanism when, for any reason, the hammers are released without slab A being in a position to be stamped. Under such conditions, the stamps slide forward in the slots and the hammers H strike the rod m before the ends of the slots 3d have moved into engagement with the corresponding retaining members and 38.

This apparatus may be readily mounted on any suitable sup-porting base adjacent a roll table, a run-out table or any other supporting means for the body to be stamped. Before the apparatus is operated, the pipe 2'! is connected to a suitable sourceaof airsunden-pressure, notgshow-n. After ;a.

slab.hasbeen:movediintoaipositionato.bestamped;

the operator; movesthe .valve handle; 28: of;valve. 2-6.downwardly-toladmit air under. pressure to the. head end: of cylinder 0 and move. the stampingv mechanism shorizontallyv toward the slab Auntil therollers .Rengage thesunface of the slab... The. cylinder 0 urges the: rollersagainst. the slab so that evenithoughi the-slab isnot properly aligned with the; stamping. mechanism, the. stamping. mechanism will pivot aboutthe-vertical: axis of bolt lziuntilibothsrollers Rengage theislab' andv the stamping mechanism isv in proper alignment:

therewith. Movement-of the'valve. handle 28-..to

thehorizontal .or neutralposition closes all air.

lines so -thatithesstamping. mechanism is. resiliently held against the side of the slab A;

If the hammers I-Lhave not .been previously raised, the operator-actuates-the. handle 4910fvalve 48 to cause thecylinder D to raise. thehammers to thecocked. position where they are engaged by the members 50. The valvehandle 49 is then raised to-withdraw the piston-rod 44. The operator then actuates valve 62 to release all of the hammers for the stamps retained by member:

as to mark the slab with the heat number and. the ingot number. Immediately thereafter, the operator selectively actuates'one of the valves 61 to mark the slab with the proper stamp retained by the retaining member 35 which shows-theportionof the ingot from-which the slab was formed: After the slab has-been marked, thgoperatorraises handle 28 ofvalve 26' towithdraw'the stamping mechanismawayfrom'theslabsupportingmeans and may at this time, actuate thevalve handle 49 of valve- 48-soas to L cause the 1. Apparatus for stamping a surface of bodies such as slabs andthe like with 'indicia, said-apparatus comprising a base; a member supported on said base for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to such a surface; a stamping mechanism supported by said member and movable relative to said member in a direction normal to said axis; spaced contact means for contacting a surface of a body to be stamped and for properly aligning said stamping mechanism with said surface about said axis; and means for moving said mechanism relative to said member toward and away from said surface whereby said spaced contact means are moved into and out of contact with said surface of the body.

2. Apparatus for stamping bodies such as slabs and the like comprising a stamping mechanism for stamping the body; means supporting said stamping mechanism for pivotal movement about a vertical axis; and spaced rollers for engaging the surface of the body to be stamped whereby the engagement of said rollers with said surface properly aligns said stamping mechanism about said vertical axis for stamping said body.

3. Apparatus for stamping a substantially vertical surface of a body, such as a steel slab and the like, said apparatus comprising a supporting base; a member supported on said base for pivotal movement about a vertical axis; a stamping mechanism supported on said member and horizontally movable relative to said member toward and away from an operative position adjacent such a surface of the body to be stamped; spaced contact rollers adapted to contact said surface; and power actuated means connected to said stamping mechanism and to said member and operable for moving said stamping mechanism horizontally away from said operative position and for moving said mechanism horizontally toward the body whereby said rollers are moved into contact with said surface and properly align said mechanism with said surface about said vertical axis.

4. Apparatus for stamping a substantially Vertical surface of a body, such as a steel slab and the like, said apparatus comprising a supporting base; a member supported on said base for pivotal movement about a vertical axis; a stamping mechanism supported on said member and horizontally movable relative to said member along ways toward and away from an operative position adjacent such a surface of the 'body to be stamped; spaced contact rollers connected to the stamping mechanism and adapted to contact said surface; and power actuated means connected to said stamping mechanism and to said member for moving said stamping mechanism horizontally away from the body and said operative position and for moving said mechanism horizontally toward the body and said operative position, said rollers being positioned to contact said surface upon movement of said mechanism to said operative position and thereby properly align said mechanism with said surface about said vertical axis.

5. Apparatus for stamping a vertical surface of bodies such as slabs and the like, said apparatus comprising a stampin mechanism; means including ways supportin the stamping mechanism for pivotal movement about a vertical axis parallel to the surface to be stamped and for horizontal movement along said ways in a direction toward and away from the slab to be stamped; spaced contact means carried by the stamping mechanism on opposite sides of a plane including said vertical axis and extending parallel to the direction of movement along said ways for contacting the surface to be stamped; power actuated means for horizontally moving said stamping mechanism along said ways away from said slab and for moving said stamping mechanism along said ways toward said slab and for moving said contact means into contact with the slab surface to be stamped whereby said mechanism is properly aligned about said axis and with said slab upon movement of the contact means into contact with the slab surface to be stamped.

6. Apparatus for stamping a surface of bodies such as slabs and the like, said apparatus comprising a stamping mechanism; means including ways supporting the stamping mechanism for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the surface to be stamped and for horizontal movement along said ways in a direction toward and away from the slab to be stamped in a plane normal to said vertical axis; spaced contact means carried by the stamping mechanism on opposite sides of a plane including said vertical axis and extending parallel to the direction of movement along said ways for contacting the slab surface to be stamped; and resilient means for horizontally moving said stamping mechanism along said ways toward and away from said slab and for resiliently urging the spaced contact means carried by said stamping mechanism into contact with the surface to be stamped whereby said mechanism is properly aligned about said axis and with said slab upon movement of the contact means into contact with the surface to be stamped.

HENRY E. MEYER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 807,850 McCafi'rey Dec. 19, 1905 1,233,699 Peirce July 17, 1917 1,845,726 Scott Feb. 16, 1932 1,896,556 Phelps Feb. 7, 1933 2,150,218 Gray Mar. 14, 1939 2,348,566 Papazian May 9, 1944 2,398,036 Paris Apr. 9, 1946 2,418,213 Winterkamp Apr. 1, 1947 

